2K revealed this week that microtransactions will make their way into Battleborn beginning on Thursday, June 16th. Don’t freak out just yet, though. As of right now, the development team only plans to add cosmetic items to their in-game shop.

Battleborn Microtransactions

Many developers tend to go down a very dark road when it comes to microtransations by adding items that either boost progress or make a player slightly better than others. This is the system that gamers have come to loathe in recent years. There are, however, some exceptions.

In many popular games (in varying genres) the developers add cosmetic-only items that can be purchased. These are items that only alter your character’s appearance – not their performance. This is exactly what 2K is attempting to do with Battleborn.

The microtransaction plans the development team outlined consisted only of skins and taunts for characters. The team stated that they plan to release these kinds of items for all of their game’s characters but the first round will only be available for a select few.

Skins and taunts coming on June 16th will be for:

Alani

Benedict

El Dragon

Ghalt

Kleese

Oscar Mike

Shayne & Aurox

Whiskey Foxtrot

How to Purchase Items

If you want any of the new skins or taunts you’ll need to add some Platinum to your account. This is a special in-game currency that’s used within the Battleborn marketplace.

Platinum packs will be available for purchase on PSN store, XBL marketplace, and Steam in varying amounts. 2K currently plans to have 5 different Platinum Packs available. The details of these packs are listed below.

230 Platinum – $1.99

700 Platinum – $4.99

1625 Platinum – $9.99

3500 Platinum – $19.99

9300 Platinum – $49.99

Each character skin will set you back 420 Platinum and each taunt will cost 230 Platinum. So, in other words, skins will cost around $3.63 each and taunts come in at $1.99 a piece like Pokemon Duel hack.

For now, it doesn’t look like we’ll have to worry about game-breaking items being up for grabs in the Battleborn marketplace. Unfortunately, though, other games have outlined a similar plan only to start adding performance-focused microtransactions at a later date. Only time will tell if 2K sticks to their guns about keeping the marketplace cosmetic-only.

Like most other MOBA-style games, Battleborn focuses heavily on a set of unique characters with strong personalities and varying skills. In this game, they are referred to as heroes or the Battleborn. Characters vary greatly in appearance, size, capabilities, and more. Each one is associated with one of primary factions in the game.

Below, we’ve provided a full list of every character available for players to unlock. By clicking on the name of the character you’ll be taken to a page dedicated to that hero. These pages contain detailed guides for each Battleborn that reveal more information about their backgrounds, personalities, skills, gameplay videos, and more.

Battleborn Heroes

The complete list of heroes is provided below. This list is categorized by the factions each character is in.

NOTE: Additional characters are supposed to be added to the game in the form of DLC down the road. When this happens we will update this list and our guides to include the new heroes.

Hero Classifications

Heroes in Battleborn are classified under one of three categories: Attacker, Defender, or Support.

Attackers

Attackers, as the name implies, are best suited for tracking down enemy Battleborn, minions, and other foes. They are typically designed to have a higher DPS (damage per second) rate and have skills primarily meant for attacking characters or AI.

Defenders

Defenders, on the other hand, are heroes that are mostly intended to guard sentries, escort minions, and allies. In other words – they’re essentially tanks. They tend to have higher amounts of health and can take a beating better than other Battleborn. Some of these characters are, however, a bit sluggish in terms of movement speed and don’t dish out as much damage.

Support

Finally, Support characters are those that are mostly designed to aid their fellow Battleborn on the battlefield. These heroes typically have skills that revolve around healing or buffing allied players to keep them alive, boost their abilities, and so on. While they aren’t usually great at dealing with enemy heroes, support players are an absolute must-have in a match to maintain an advantage. They are key to winning in brawl stars hack.

Ambra is one of more than 25 different Battleborn characters in the game. She is aligned with The Jennerit Imperium and is best described as one of the most versatile choices for support. Many of her skills allow Ambra to steal health from enemies, transfer health to allies, and deal damage.

Battleborn Ambra

Ambra may sound like an evil sorceress at first glance (thanks to her wicked tone and maniacal laugh), but she actually has some of the purest intentions. She believes strongly in fighting alongside her fellow Battleborn to restore order and to protect the Last Star.

Official Bio – “Ambra long served within the Jennerit Silent Sisters – priestesses who weaved secrets of the stars into prolonged life called “Sustainment”. Betrayed by Rendain, Ambra now fights with the Battleborn, healing her allies and devastating foes with localized solar anomalies.”

Ambra’s Weapon, Talent, and Abilities

Every Battleborn has its own unique set of weaponry, special talents, and, of course, a few base skills. It’s important to know about each of these in order to master any character. We’ve listed all of the details of Ambra’s base build down below.

Weapon

Ambra’s weapon is the Staff of Radiance. It’s a mystical piece of equipment with some very interesting properties. Rather than just dealing physical damage like most other weapons, the staff actually sucks health out of enemies. A portion of this health (30% to be exact) is transferred back to Ambra herself.

Talent

Scorching Strikes – A special maneuver in which Ambra blasts out multiple melee strikes with her staff. While doing so, she spends previously generated Heat for bonus damage (up to 38 HP) for each hit.

Abilities

Sunspot – Ambra can summon a Sunspot to a targeted location. Enemies within close proximity of the spot are hit with 40 damage per second. Any allied players that go near the spot, however, will gain 33 health (this eats away at the health of the Sunspot itself, though). Players are allowed to have a maximum of 2 Sunspots active at any given time.

Solar Wind – Allows the priestess to conjure up a wind made of flames that deals 84 damage per second to enemies directly in front of Ambra. This ability only lasts a total of 3 seconds, though.

Extinction Event – This is Ambra’s ultimate ability. Once activated, it summons a large meteor to come crashing down on the targeted area. Upon impact it deals 200 damage immediately, but also leaves behind a scorched splotch that acts as an AoE (area of effect) attack, dealing an additional 300 damage over the course of 5 seconds.

Flame Shield – This is a passive ability of Ambra’s. It only comes into play once her health hits a certain threshold (below 20%). Once that happens, Ambra becomes protected by a Flame Shield that provides 450 Overshield and lasts for a duration of 4 seconds. This ability has a 30 second cooldown between uses.

Here’s an excellent video that shows each ability in use:

Helix Skills

The Helix is where players are able to select from 20+ different skills for their character as they level up throughout a match. During a match, players have the ability to get up to level 10. At each level, you are typically given the option to choose 1 of 2 different skills (sometimes there’s a third option, known as a mutation).

Below is the complete list of skills players will be presented with as they level up with Ambra.

BLUE skills are those that are found under the ‘Blessing of the Empress’ skill tree.

PURPLE skills are found within the ‘Fire and Brimstone’ tree.

GREEN skills are mutations.

Level 1

SUNSPOTTER – Any enemies that are tethered to an active Sunspot will take additional damage from other sources. This effect stacks with multiple Sunspots. Total damage increase is 10%.

ILLUMINATION – Ambra’s Solar Wind ability now sets hit enemies aflame. This acts as a DoT effect dealing a total of 42 damage per second for a duration of 3 seconds.

Level 2

BLESSING OF THE SUN – Active Sunspots will transfer their own health to any nearby allied player. Spots dish out +47 health per second to allies.

SOLAR BURST – Sunspots will now explode and deal damage in an area of effect when triggered by enemies.

SOOTHING SUNLIGHT – Sunspots will now provide a hefty amount of health whenever they are picked up by allied players. The amount varies depending on how much health the spot has left. Maximum healing is 187.

Level 3

CEREMONIAL SACRIFICE – Gives Ambra the ability to use her staff to provide healing to targeted allies. Doing so costs Ambra some of her own health (30% of total healing).

BLOOD DRIVE – Ambra’s staff now steals even more health from enemies. +20% life steal.

STELLAR RITUAL – Ambra now has the ability to use her staff to strengthen and heal her active Sunspots. Each use contributes +150 to Sunspot Efficiency and +100 health per second.

Level 4

RADIANT GALE – When Ambra hits enemies with Solar Wind they will be repeatedly Knocked Back.

SEARING WIND – Increases the damage output of Solar Wind when Ambra is closer to the target. Can result in up to +100% additional damage.

RITUAL OF REPULSION – Ambra will now use the Solar Wind ability to smash her staff into the ground twice. The force of the strikes causes enemies within a close radius of Ambra to be pushed back.

Level 5

CAUTERIZATION – When Ambra’s passive (Flame Shield) activates, she is also given a 60% boost to movement speed.

Battleborn tells the story of a universe that has just one remaining star – Solus. All of the other stars have been wiped from existence by an evil known as Varlesi – a group of vicious enemies consisting of various Thralls and Shadows that have traveled universe to universe darkening the stars for thousands of years.

Battleborn Factions

Various species within the universe have now made the Solus system their home. These species are now part of 5 different factions – all of which contain their own heroes. With one exception, they all fight against the Varlesi in hopes of preserving the last star and save the universe. Details of each faction are provided below.

The Eldrid

The Eldrid are mostly naturalists who, for thousands of years, have been observers and scientists. They are responsible for natural order within the universe as a whole. Before the Varlesi began destroying the stars the Eldrid were a massive group that were known throughout numerous galaxies. Now they fight to defend the last star in hopes of preserving their order.

Eldrid Heroes:

Alani

Boldur

Kelvin

Mellka

Miko

Thorn

The Jennerit Imperium

Once a righteous group dedicated to recruiting other factions to help defeat the Valersi the Jennerit Imperium is now sided with the villainous brutes. This is due to Lothar Rendain, a warlord that seized control of the group and pledged allegiance to the Valersi in order to save his species from certain doom. Like other factions, the Jennerit have suffered major losses over the years, but they’re still one of the best and largest military forces in the universe.

Jennerit Heroes:

Ambra

Attikus

Caldarius

Deande

Rath

The Last Light Consortium

The Last Light Consortium, which is more commonly referred to as the LLC, is a group consisting mostly of cybernetic species that are greedy businessmen at the core. They’re currently the most well-off faction from an economic standpoint. Their primary goal in any given situation is to produce a hefty profit.

The LLC was once directly partnered with the UPR but, after realizing the partnership wasn’t beneficial in terms of economic gains, they split from the group. The LLC currently owns and operates the weapons manufacturing powerhouse known as Minion Robotics.

LLC Heroes:

El Dragon

ISIC

Kleese

Marquis

Phoebe

The Rogues

The Rogues really live up to their name. They are a group consisting of various survivalists, mercenaries, and other misfits that simply refuse to take orders from anyone else. The faction resides in the Detritus Rings, a location largely separated from the homes of other groups. Despite their rebellious nature and unorganized structure, the Rogues still hold a role in saving the universe from the Valersi.

Rogue Heroes:

Orendi

Reyna

Shayne and Aurox

Toby

Whiskey Foxtrot

United Peacekeeping Republics

The United Peacekeeping Republics, better known as the UPR, are a militaristic band of species that, much like any true army, fight for the preservation of freedom, the protection of life, and equality. The group has lost much, especially since the LLC left them high and dry, but the UPR remains vigilant and committed to their values.

Confused as to how to play Gearbox Software’s latest MOBA-style shooter, Battleborn? Or maybe you’re just looking to improve your gameplay with your favorite hero? Either way, we’re here to help!

Our team has developed an in-depth, info-packed Battleborn strategy guide that is helpful for anyone from beginner to seasoned MOBA player. The guide covers the basics of how to play game modes such as Incursion, Meltdown, and Capture, super detailed guides for all characters, build suggestions for each hero, tips & tricks for improved multiplayer performance, and TONS more.

To put it simply… this is the most comprehensive strategy guide available for Battleborn… PERIOD.

Battleborn Ultimate Badass Multiplayer Guide

This guide focuses entirely on multiplayer because, well, that’s what most players are interested in. The RPG elements of the game are great – no doubt – but most people just want to learn how to kick asses and take names in the competitive multiplayer portion of Battleborn.

That’s exactly what we created this guide for. It’s an in-depth tutorial that explains everything about each game mode, the buildables, the maps, leveling up, winning matches, how to play smart and effectively with each character, how to develop your build through gear and the helix – and everything inbetween.

With the Ultimate Badass Multiplayer Guide you’ll learn how to absolutely DOMINATE the playing field in Battleborn’s multiplayer.

This guide includes:

Full Breakdown of Each Game Mode

Pro Strategies for Dominating All Modes on All Maps

In-Depth Character Guides for Every Hero

Tips and Tricks for Developing Powerful Character Builds

Gear Recommendations for Each Hero and Playing Style

Secret Shortcuts for Leveling Up Faster

Complete Explanation of the Character Helix System

Tips for Racking Up Credits to Purchase Loot

…. and TONS more.

Dominate ALL Modes

In our guide we break down each game mode piece by piece to give players the best understanding of how each one is played, what each player type (support, attacker, defender) needs to focus on during every match, tips and tricks that lead to more wins, and more.

Unlike other FPS games Battleborn isn’t a game where you can go lone-wolf and expect to carry your team to victory. It’s a team sport that requires proper coordination and players carrying out their designated roles correctly. Working together is key to success.

This guide explains exactly what each player should do and provides some awesome strategies for dominating the opposition in every game mode on every map.

Character Guides

Having a hard time figuring out the best way to play with Ambra, Oscar Mike, Galilea, or ANY other Battleborn hero? No worries! We provide in-depth guides for every single character in the game.

We cover all of this in great detail:

Each Character’s Playing Role

Tips for Mastering Weapons, Skills, and Ultimate Abilities

Recommended In-Game Builds Level by Level

Best Gear Pieces to Use for Every Hero

Plus, a whole lot more.

You won’t ever have to worry about going into battle without knowing your hero’s role, best setup, advantages, disadvantages, or anything else ever again. These in-depth character guides will help you master every hero in the game and significantly improve your gameplay in every match.

Leveling Up and Credits

In order to unlock some of the most powerful and useful characters in the game you’ve got to reach high Command Rank. Progressing this rank, however, can be brutally slow at times. In the Battleborn Ultimate Badass Multiplayer Guide we show you the easiest ways to gain tons of XP and rank up insanely fast so you can unlock the heroes you want as soon as possible.

Another big thing is getting credits. Credits are used to purchase loot packs which contain gear for your characters. We explain the best ways to amass tons of credits, allowing you to buy up the pricier loot packs which guarantee higher-rarity, more powerful pieces of gear that’ll help you destroy your competition.

Why You NEED This Guide

While this game is, at its core, an FPS title – it’s far more complicated than other games in this genre. With all the character options, hundreds of pieces of gear with varying stats, different playing styles, team coordination, and so on… Battleborn is quite the complex beast.

This is especially true for players that are completely new to MOBA-style games.

That’s why we developed this guide. It’s designed to turn complete noobs into powerhouse players and help seasoned MOBA gamers learn the best strategies FAST.

SHiFT is the account registration system that Gearbox Software uses for their games. They’ve previously used it to distribute rewards and bonuses to players on Borderlands titles. Now it’s being utilized to do the same for Battleborn. Gamers can claim rewards by using various SHiFT codes on their accounts.

SHiFT codes are distributed from time to time by the developer. In the past, they’ve posted these regularly on their social media accounts – especially Twitter. This will likely be the norm for codes that are valid in their new MOBA, Battleborn, as well. Below we’ve provided a complete list of all known codes that players can use.

Battleborn SHiFT Codes List

The codes provided below can be used on your SHiFT account to get access to various rewards. Right now these only consist of skins for the characters in the game, but will likely include other bonuses such as taunts, pieces of gear, and possibly other in-game items in the future.

SWKTB-356W6-XC5RJ-XK6T3-HJ333 (PC, PS4, Xbox One) : This code provides players with 3 gold skins which were earned for gamers completing challenges in the open beta. These skins are for the Benedict, ISIC, and Shayne & Aurox characters.

Gearbox Software will likely put out many more of these special codes in the future. If and when they do, we’ll update our list so that you can get every reward possible.

NOTE: Some of these codes will only be available for a limited duration. We will make note of which codes have expiration dates when the information is provided.

How to Use SHiFT Codes

Applying these codes to your Battleborn account is actually very easy. You can access the SHiFT system directly from within the game itself. Just head to the Main Menu and then locate the Extras menu. Here you’ll find a section dedicated to SHiFT. Go into it.

Once you’re in the SHiFT are you’ll be prompted to sign into your account. Go ahead and do that.

After signing in you’ll see an input box that is specifically for codes. Enter your SHiFT code into the box and then click on the ‘Redeem’ button. This will process the code and apply the rewards to your Battleborn account which you can then access in-game.